Valkyria Chronicles Review

Gallia, we march for thee.

Valkyria Chronicles isn't a perfect game. That being said, this strategy RPG from SEGA is one of the richest, most rewarding titles I've played in a long while. Combining a wealth of different genres and gameplay systems together to form a cohesive whole, Valkyria Chronicles documents the struggle of the neutral Principality of Gallia as it's caught up in the conflict between two Europan superpowers that are warring over the precious element Ragnite. Set in an alternate 1930's Europe, Valkyria Chronicles is a game that PS3 owners should be clamoring for.

The main plot of Valkyria Chronicles revolves around Welkin Gunther, son of a hero from the first Europan War and an extremely eccentric intellectual. Upon returning to his home town of Bruhl, Welkin's life is soon swept away by the torrential storm of the Imperial invasion of Gallia. Due to Gallia's policy of Universal Conscription, Welkin is drafted into the militia and gains command over Squad 7 as a tank commander. With his sister, Isara, acting as the tank pilot and Alicia, a fellow Bruhl native, serving under Welkin's command, Squad 7 starts its campaign to fight the Imperial advance into the idyllic countryside.

The first thing you might notice about Valkyria Chronicles is its art style, which is both distinctive and beautiful. A refreshing mix of traditional anime designs and watercolor paintings, Valkyria Chronicles has an immediately charming look that will definitely please anime newcomers and veterans alike. Although the game isn't necessarily pushing the system in any way, especially when you consider the somewhat generic environments, the character models are what really bring the experience to life.

The overall structure of Valkyria Chronicles is incredible. The entire game is contained within the fictitious book entitled "On the Gallian Front" by Irene Koller. In other words, your entire time with Valkyria Chronicles is actually just a retelling of past events as told by Koller, which works extremely well on a number of levels. Being contained within a book, the player can instantly recognize that Valkyria Chronicles is interested in telling a story. There are many cutscenes and character dialogues to watch, but all of them are reasonable in length and work to build the well-told narrative. In light of this dynamic, one might say Valkyria Chronicles isn't quite for your average adrenaline junkie, but anyone interested in watching a powerful story play out in an elegant (albeit delightfully Japanese) fashion will love it.

Accessing the countless features of Valkyria Chronicles is not only easy but also entertaining. Each chapter of the story is presented as a chapter in the book, which typically contain one or two major cutscenes, along with a handful of small dialogues and optional conversations. Then, of course, there's a mission to complete which will unlock the next set of cutscenes and subsequent chapters.

Your view of the battlefield.

The book menu is also home to a number of different game databases, which carefully document almost everything in the world of Valkyria Chronicles that you could possibly be interested in. You can even view the character models of every soldier you encounter and the weapons that they carry into battle. Because Valkyria Chronicles doesn't use a world map as a sort of hub, these extensive databases and encyclopedic entries do a marvelous job of painting the game world and giving the Gallian struggle some context.

Ultimately, the gameplay of Valkyria Chronicles is the most enticing element of the package. As I mentioned before, the battle system combines elements from about three different game genres (RPGs, strategy games and third-person shooters) to form something quite original. After selecting a stage, Welkin is briefed on the task at hand and is assigned a primary objective which -- more often than not -- involves capturing the enemy's base camp. After the briefing, you move on to a deployment screen where you can select soldiers from your Squad and place them in open slots on the field, which usually surround your own base. Once you're satisfied with the pre-battle setup, you hit "Deploy" and the real combat begins.